GIVE YOUR PROMISE A REASON

Today's DISPATCHES is a reprint of a frequently asked for "oldie, but goodie" from our archives first published in October, 2006. We hope you enjoy.

The reason-why is a critically important strategic element of both the brand's positioning and communication strategies. It's also important to ensuring compelling communications. Too often marketers confuse "reason-why" with the rationale for why the customer should choose your brand. No, the reason-why is not about why someone(s) should choose the brand but why s/he should believe your benefit promise. It's all about supporting the benefit - making it believable and, therefore, more persuasive.

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The DISPATCHES^TM for October 26, 2008 can be found here:

GIVE YOUR PROMISE A REASON

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

GIVE YOUR PROMISE A REASON

It is also available in PDF here:

GiveYour PromiseRev.pdf (PDF File)

HIRING A MARKETECT

We are so fortunate each week to work with marketers from different countries, cultures, categories, and companies. Fortunate because we can learn so much from them. And fortunate because we can see in real time what the marketer-landscape looks like and how it is evolving. In other words, we can get a pretty realistic sense of the kinds of challenges marketers are facing now as opposed to, say, five or ten years ago. We can also get a good feel for the kinds of talents, the skill sets that today's marketers need more than ever before to win with their brands in the marketplace. This week we have taken a shot at outlining what we see as the most important "core competencies" for today's marketer. Honestly, we would not hire anyone without them.

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The DISPATCHES^TM for October 19, 2008 can be found here:

HIRING A MARKETECT

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

HIRING A MARKETECT

It is also available in PDF here:

HiringAMarketect.pdf (PDF File)

LESSONS FROM POLITICAL MARKETING

Time is ticking down on the presidential election in the United States. We're less than one-month away from going to the election booths to cast our vote for our next president. This has been a political battle between two candidates, more so than two parties or, perhaps, even the issues, that has clearly divided many American citizens.

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The DISPATCHES^TM for October 12, 2008 can be found here:

LESSONS FROM POLITICAL MARKETING

It is also available in PDF here:

LessonsFromPoliticalMarketing.pdf (PDF File)

GETTING A COMMON LANGUAGE

Every so often we get asked questions like, "How does Brand Character fit with Brand Essence?" Or "Is the brand's Market Definition the same as its Source of Volume?" Actually, answering concept-distinction questions such as these requires a commonly held understanding of the individual concepts. But sometimes, just like marketers everywhere, we don't always have a commonly shared understanding of what a marketing term means - we don't speak a common marketing language. Getting to a common language within an organization is tough to do, and yet so many companies need it. This week we take a look at some of the big barriers to a common marketing language, as well as identify a few ways around them.

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The DISPATCHES^TM for October 5, 2008 can be found here:

GETTING A COMMON LANGUAGE

It is also available in PDF here:

GettingACommonLanguage.pdf (PDF File)